When Idun gasped like that it was very hard to maintain any sense of composure. Unfortunately, it was also when composure was needed the very most. If she gasped and Bragi continued laughing, she'd win automatically. Idun loved to win. It gave her eyes a smug smirkish sort of a quality, and sometimes made it so her sentences could all conceivably end in 'Hah!' before it settled into a delightful purring sort of glee. But automatically would not do. Bragi's job was not to stop her from winning. He'd be fired in no time if it was. It was a bit trickier than that. His job was to make sure she earned every victory, and to never let on that he had never actually lost at anything. When Idun won, Bragi was the one rewarded, and when she lost, well...he'd won, and she'd savor her victory next time twice as much.
So Bragi did the only thing he could do when facing insurmountable odds like these. He forced the corners of his lips straight, bit into his tongue at what could be the key to anything and thought very hard about geometry. Three hundred, or maybe thirty, students all watching the chalk in his shaking hand not move. The grizzled professor who thought he was the oldest one in the room and therefore superior, staring down his nose with those hungry little eyes, his mouth straight and sadistic, with an impatient but smug 'errhermm' just waiting on his lips. ANGLES. So many angles. October 12th, 1962. The date Bragi wished he didn't remember.
Internally, Bragi shuddered. Externally, he wore his most outraged expression and then scowled. “Curses! Foiled again!” Bragi said. It was the thimble. The thimble had given away whatever he had been doing. He narrowed his eyes at her. She was smiling at the sundae. Angles..... Angles..... “But I will fool you next time,” Bragi said, “This isn't over, Idun.” While he was distracting her with those words and a maniacal stare, Bragi stole her spoon, and held it behind his back with his free hand.
“Probably,”Bragi agreed. It was much too soon. They'd only been out for coffee one time, and that only halfway counted. He bit the corner of his lip. Then he smiled. “Though if she does want a beach wedding maybe at sunset? Since she has so many Underworld native relatives.”
He nodded. He was good with there. Then they'd have more control over the environment. Like if romantic music suddenly started playing or if they decided they needed to use candles to save on electricity. “He said that dinner would be lovely and he definitely would not mind being in the company of your friend again,” Bragi said. “Well actually, he just nodded, but you know how masterful he is with that. He can say everything better than anyone without actually saying anything.” It was amazing. Someone could ask a question that would take Bragi one hundred words to answer, and Vidar could answer it perfectly in two. “I think a bouncy castle might add too many variables for a first date but after the incident with the doves when we were setting up that librarian with the Swedish heiress I'd say it's your turn to make the call.”